“Jean!” Tina tried to hold her shocked expression but lost the battle as everyone else enjoyed Jean’s imploring statement for Nick to continue. Tina shrugged. “There’s no censoring anything around Wednesday Addams.”
“It’s just that I can think of a thousand ways the pirates could approach and cripple a cruise ship, including infiltrating the crew or security team. That would be the best way. Have a mole inside the crew to either sabotage the ship or help their pirate shipmates to come aboard. I bet there aren’t any Israeli ships being threatened. They don’t play that ‘catch and release crap’ with anyone. Damn… now I want to go on a pirate hunt. It must be the booze talking after a long day.”
“I could imagine going on a cruise,” Jean said. “The pirates that attacked the ship we were on would sure be surprised… and dead. They don’t allow passengers to bring weapons on board. How would you stop a pirate attack on a cruise ship we were on, Dad?”
“Good question. If the pirates get on board because of infiltration or stupidity by the ship’s crew the first order of business would be to stay away from the surrendering idiots in the crew. Also we would have to stay away from the crying and whining victim passengers. The pirates mostly have AK47’s. I’d take one from them and go to work. The pirate hunt would be on then.”
“Easy to say, Gomez,” Tina retorted, “but what about if the pirates took hostages and threatened to kill them if you didn’t surrender?”
“Heh…heh.”
Gus and John enjoyed Nick’s small rejoinder to Tina with enthusiasm. Tina elbowed Gus. “What the hell are you laughing at?”
“Muerto would make sure everyone he cared about was hidden away and safe,” Gus explained. “Apparently you would assume Muerto would adopt everyone aboard as anything other than collateral damage.”
“Sorry, Tina, Gus is right. I know what happens when there is hesitation in combat. Yes, it would be very possible innocent people would die if I fight the pirates. We could of course all surrender and let a bunch of ragtag shitheads piss all over us for months while the government and cruise line barter for our release. That’s not me. I’ll save as many people as I can, but the pirates all die.”
“You mean if a pirate has one of those AK47’s you talk about pointed at a bunch of innocent people, you wouldn’t give up to save them?”
“I don’t think you’re seeing the big picture, Tina. I don’t care about a bunch of innocent people. I would shoot the pirate in the head and each and every one of his buddies until they were all dead. Would they get off some shots that killed and wounded innocent people? Probably. It would be best for all aboard if they didn’t surrender without first consulting with Captain Muerto.”
Nick’s cold explanation of reality with him in it during a pirate attack garnered surprise only from Tina and Cala. Their perception of Nick’s cold blooded killer persona was not yet fully developed enough to realize how uncaringly deadly he could get. Even Sonny had no illusions about Nick after the way Nick handled his parents and the Kaders on the walk to the beach. He instinctively knew Nick would kill anyone or anything without hesitation.
Tina stared at Nick trying to grasp his easy going nature fa?ade with what she knew he did and would do. “I guess this is why the wives don’t want to know what the Godfather does in the mob families. This is a bad thing to ask in front of the kids, but doesn’t the act of killing make you hesitate?”
Gus patted her hand. “I was with Nick when I talked him out of retirement. We went to the sand, he did his thing, and we left on a boat. An Iranian gunboat, The Majid, came after us. Nick fired an EMP shot with an M136 launcher that made the gunboat dead in the water. Did we leave? Nope. Nick vaporized the damn boat with three other loads until the fuel tank blew. When I asked him why we didn’t just leave with the boat dead in the water he said, ‘I don’t like being hunted… even when I deserve it. I’ve never asked for mercy, and I don’t issue it in return… even if I’m begged to’. I’ve never forgotten that line. You shouldn’t either, T.”
“Wow… that was the time you came home all dark from the sun, bitten up by bugs with scratches all over,” Jean put in.
“Yeah, I hate the sand,” Nick admitted.
“You didn’t like the Iranian gunboat much either, Sir,” Sonny said to much laughter.
“I wish we could get into a pirate adventure,” Jean said. “They have all kinds of knives in the galley aboard the cruise ship. Sonny and I could help kill pirates once we found some well balanced knives.”
“Jean!” Jean ducked behind a smiling Sonny as Rachel tried to reach her but gave up with an exasperated sigh.
*